Immediately after the Oak Creek massacre, many suspected the killings were a continuation of the post-9/11 wave of attacks on Sikhs who were mistaken for Muslims because of their turbans and beards. The…
An article in the New Statesman reports that Taliban have signalled their willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict in Afghanistan.
The current situation in Afghanistan is a dramatic example of the old adage that all foreign policy is merely an extension of domestic politics. Last week, the British weekly, New Statesman, reported an…
President Obama outlines his tax policy at the White House on Monday.
EPA
On Monday afternoon, President Obama delivered what sounded like a speech on tax policy. In reality, though, the speech dispensed more politics than policy - politics carefully crafted to secure Obama…
The US is growing in popularity down under … have we all got Obamamania?
AAP/Scott Barbour
When Barack Obama was under fire for his foreign policy inexperience in 2007, he told the New York Times that his unique biography could be a vital instrument in a new American foreign policy. “If you…
Romney’s faith leaves him open to political attacks.
EPA/Kamil Krzsczynski
Five months before the American presidential election, one thing is clear: Obama wants this to be a referendum on venture capitalism. Last week the Obama camp sharpened its attack on the business record…
Libyan civilians in the wake of a NATO airstrike last year. Will the Libya operation be NATO’s swansong?
EPA/Mohamed Messara
Last year – for the first time in modern history – Asia outspent Europe on their militaries. The true significance of this milestone lies in how easily the Asian countries were able to achieve it. There…
Kennett and Obama have been swept away by the tide of public opinion.
AAP/Joe Catro/EPA/Kevin Dietsch
Clearly, there is something in the international waters, when, within the space of a few months, both the leader of the free world, Barack Obama, and the Chairperson of beyondblue, Jeff Kennett, declare…
Barack Obama has sent a message to same-sex attracted people everywhere: “I’m in your corner”.
ABC News
This morning my phone woke me earlier than usual with a text from one of my sons, who regularly taps into American politics in the middle of the night. “Obama has come out for gay marriage – how about…
President Obama addresses of the White House Forum on Women and the Economy on April 6 this year.
EPA/Pete Marovich
When former Senator Rick Santorum dropped out of the Republican nomination contest earlier this week, the race for the presidency took a sharp turn toward the general election. For presumptive nominee…
Gillard maintained the status quo in Seoul.
AAP/Office of the Prime Minister
Prime minister, Julia Gillard joined 52 other world leaders at the second round of the Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea. In her address to the summit, she joined other participating states in advocating…
Republicans today went to the polls on Super Tuesday, but no clear candidate for the presidential nomination emerged.
EPA/Ryan Stone
Voting in the Super Tuesday Republican primaries has ended in every participating state except Alaska. The results have been shared: front runners Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have all…
President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in early March, 2012.
EPA/Martin H Simon
A key facet of America’s extended, depressing election campaigns is that every serious presidential candidate has to prove their fanatical, unswerving devotion to the Israeli government. As part of this…
Does the US suffer from its desire to go it alone in space?
NASA
In its newly released budget request to Congress, the Obama Administration is seeking to reduce NASA’s funding by US$59m to US$17.7 billion – a reduction of just 0.03%, not that you would know that from…
Rick Perry failed to distinguish himself among an uninspiring field of contenders.
EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo
I stated on The Conversation last August that Rick Perry would become the next President of the United States in 2013. Instead, the Texas governor dropped out of the race last week, unable to establish…
A proposed EU oil embargo may push Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad closer to China and Venezuela.
AAP
Last week the European Union indicated that it is likely to enact an oil embargo on Iran. The move is aimed at damaging Iran’s crucial oil export business enough so the country’s regime curtails its nuclear…
Suspect Bradley Manning is accused of “aiding the enemy” and faces court martial by a US military court.
EPA/BradleyManning.org/
The controversy over Wikileaks will today, at least temporarily, shift its focus from the website’s founder Julian Assange to suspected informant Private First Class Bradley Manning. Today Manning will…
Americans may be a little confused about Australia, but they sure do like us. AAP/Greg Wood.
Americans may not think about Australia much, but when they do, they try not to let facts get in the way. But why should we be surprised by that? With great passion comes great ignorance. And Americans…
Strategic friendships: will Australia’s decision to sign up to Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement impact on our relationship with China?
AAP
The task of simultaneously negotiating our traditional security and cultural ties with the US, and our burgeoning economic relationship with China, can justifiably be described as the “great foreign policy…
A warm welcome for the President from Julia Gillard and the Governor General, but Australia should take care not to give too much away to the Americans. AAP/Stuart McEvoy.
It’s third time lucky for President Obama. He’s cancelled his trip to Australia twice before, but now he has finally made it to Canberra. Julia Gillard has struck up a friendship with the US President…
Julia Gillard has enjoyed mixing with Barack Obama on the foreign policy stage.
AAP/AusPic Howard Moffat
*When President Obama begins his long-awaited visit to Australia today, he’ll have a keen tour guide in Julia Gillard. They’ve developed an apparently firm friendship in recent months. But should the Prime…
Professor in U.S. Politics and U.S. Foreign Relations at the United States Studies Centre and in the Discipline of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney